What's the reaction in Connecticut to their Bishops' aboutface on Plan B?
Connecticut Catholic has a couple of posts:
Outrage and Shame Over Plan B in Connecticut
Quote:
"Let me refresh their memories from their own Connecticut Conference of Catholic Bishop's Q&A still, temporarily I presume, located on their website:
7) Connecticut's Catholic hospitals have said that Plan B can sometimes cause an abortion. Is this correct?
The primary mechanism of Plan B is to prevent ovulation, and therefore conception.
The secondary mechanism of Plan B is to prevent the implantation of a fertilized ovum, which is abortion. This is confirmed on the manufacturer's web site that says, Plan B may also work by preventing it (the fertilized egg) from attaching to the uterus (womb).
8) Is it a true statement to say that forcing Catholic hospitals to provide Plan B under all cases is equivalent to forcing Catholic hospitals to perform an abortion?
Yes. When Plan B cannot act as a contraceptive, it can only act to cause an abortion. Forcing Catholic hospitals to provide Plan B in these situations forces the hospitals to perform abortions."
And:
Local reaction to Plan B Sucker Punch
Quote:
"Mark Pazniokas of the Hartford Courant had a brief report in CAUCUS - Politics from CT to DC, and reports that Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr. stated: 'For those very same bishops to do a 180-degree turnabout two days before the legislation becomes law, without any adequate explanation, is incomprehensible,' Cafero said. 'It shows apparent disregard and disrespect for the political process and those of us who worked in their behalf.'"
Pray for our brothers and sisters (including our Bishops) in Connecticut!
Posted by Gibbons Cooney
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
"Second Miracle of Mary"
Three young nuns from Nashville, Tennessee, as volunteers in Sydney, Australia, are helping to prepare for World Youth Day next July.
WHAT do three religious sisters pack when they are sent to assist the largest religious gathering in Australian history? Answer: 600 rosary beads, personal prayer books, two guitars, mum's cookies and a frisbee.
Sister Mary Rachel, Sister Anna and Sister Mary Madeline are members of the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia in Nashville, Tennessee. They arrived three weeks ago, at the invitation of the Australian event co-ordinator, Bishop Anthony Fisher, himself a Dominican.
Their presence, at a time when many sisters have shed the habit, has been a source of public wonderment. During a recent sightseeing tour of Taronga Zoo, a visiting party of school children bounced excitedly yelling, "nuns, nuns, nuns" as their teachers sought to hush them.
On their arrival at Sydney Airport, an Australian man quipped to them: "Three nuns, all in habits, all happy and young. It's the second miracle of Mary."
Sister Anna went to World Youth Day in Rome in 2000 and left transformed. "There was this moment in the [overnight] vigil," she says. "We'd walked 20 kilometres, it was 1am and we were trying to get to sleep.
"I woke up and the Pope's address had been broadcast. He said, 'There are so many of you out there but I see you one by one and I say do not be afraid to follow Christ and live radically.'
"I heard it and I thought, he is speaking to me. It was a moment of grace given of courage."
“Recent revelations that even Mother Teresa had expressed a fear of abandonment by God are evidence that no life can be perfectly fulfilled,” Sister Mary Madeline said. “It reinforced the Christian hope for a new Pentecost, a fresh kindling of the Holy Spirit in each Catholic” (From the Sidney Morning Herald)
WHAT do three religious sisters pack when they are sent to assist the largest religious gathering in Australian history? Answer: 600 rosary beads, personal prayer books, two guitars, mum's cookies and a frisbee.
Sister Mary Rachel, Sister Anna and Sister Mary Madeline are members of the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia in Nashville, Tennessee. They arrived three weeks ago, at the invitation of the Australian event co-ordinator, Bishop Anthony Fisher, himself a Dominican.
Their presence, at a time when many sisters have shed the habit, has been a source of public wonderment. During a recent sightseeing tour of Taronga Zoo, a visiting party of school children bounced excitedly yelling, "nuns, nuns, nuns" as their teachers sought to hush them.
On their arrival at Sydney Airport, an Australian man quipped to them: "Three nuns, all in habits, all happy and young. It's the second miracle of Mary."
Sister Anna went to World Youth Day in Rome in 2000 and left transformed. "There was this moment in the [overnight] vigil," she says. "We'd walked 20 kilometres, it was 1am and we were trying to get to sleep.
"I woke up and the Pope's address had been broadcast. He said, 'There are so many of you out there but I see you one by one and I say do not be afraid to follow Christ and live radically.'
"I heard it and I thought, he is speaking to me. It was a moment of grace given of courage."
“Recent revelations that even Mother Teresa had expressed a fear of abandonment by God are evidence that no life can be perfectly fulfilled,” Sister Mary Madeline said. “It reinforced the Christian hope for a new Pentecost, a fresh kindling of the Holy Spirit in each Catholic” (From the Sidney Morning Herald)
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Another Gianna Molla
A Melbourne GP refused high-level chemotherapy, ultimately sacrificing her life to save her unborn daughter.
Dr Ellice Hammond, 37, lost her battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma three weeks after daughter Mia Ellice was born nine weeks prematurely at the Monash Medical Centre, where she remains in neonatal intensive care.
Dr Hammond was diagnosed in the 22nd week of pregnancy and refused high-level chemotherapy that could have saved her but might have killed Mia.
Dr Hammond had three reduced-strength chemotherapy treatments during the pregnancy, but the cancer returned worse than before each time and full-strength treatments following Mia's birth did not save her.
Husband, Peter Wojcik said he was proud of his wife's devotion to their child.
“It feels like I got robbed of a wife and a mother,” he said.
“But she would just want what is best for Mia and for everyone to love her and carry on with life."
Dr Ellice Hammond, 37, lost her battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma three weeks after daughter Mia Ellice was born nine weeks prematurely at the Monash Medical Centre, where she remains in neonatal intensive care.
Dr Hammond was diagnosed in the 22nd week of pregnancy and refused high-level chemotherapy that could have saved her but might have killed Mia.
Dr Hammond had three reduced-strength chemotherapy treatments during the pregnancy, but the cancer returned worse than before each time and full-strength treatments following Mia's birth did not save her.
Husband, Peter Wojcik said he was proud of his wife's devotion to their child.
“It feels like I got robbed of a wife and a mother,” he said.
“But she would just want what is best for Mia and for everyone to love her and carry on with life."
Monday, September 24, 2007
Mexico City Policy
Here’s message from PRI (Population Research Institute) that demands attention:
Pro-abortionists in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have voted to gut Ronald Reagan’s Mexico City Policy. The Mexico City Policy, as you probably know, is the 23-year old U.S. policy that forbids U.S. taxpayer support of any organization that performs or even promotes abortion.
House and Senate committees will now meet to settle their minor differences on this pro-abortion legislation. If – and probably when – the House and Senate agree on this pro-abortion bill, ONLY a Presidential veto can prevent this catastrophe for preborn babies.
So it’s critical that we immediately tell the President to veto this destruction of the pro-life Mexico City Policy if it reaches his desk!
Planned Parenthood’s brand new river of babies’ blood
Planned Parenthood’s worldwide killing machine stands to reap vast sums of U.S. aid from the destruction of our Mexico City Policy.
This bill allows massive U.S. taxpayer funding of worldwide condom and abortifacient distribution – U.S. tax money that will allow Planned Parenthood to free-up its existing funds for surgical abortions on a frightening scale.
Untold numbers of babies will die if America’s Mexico City Policy is gutted!
Only the beginning of the new “Slaughter of the Innocents”
As you read these words, pro-abortionists are giddy beyond belief at the prospect of finally crushing our pro-life Mexico City Policy.
NARAL Pro-Choice America brags that this legislation is just “. . . an important first step . . .” for “reproductive health services for women overseas.” That’s a slick way of saying “abortion on a scale beyond belief.” (“NARAL” stands for National Abortion Rights Action League.)
And since this is just the “first step” in the abortionists' new long-range plans . . .
We’ve got to stop them cold – NOW!
Here’s what we have to do right now . . .
First, we’ve got to FLOOD the White House with Petitions to Save America’s Pro-Life Mexico City Policy. We’ve got to tell the President that we expect him to hold true to his promise to veto all anti-life legislation that reaches his desk. We’ve got to hold his feet to the fire!
Pro-abortionists in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have voted to gut Ronald Reagan’s Mexico City Policy. The Mexico City Policy, as you probably know, is the 23-year old U.S. policy that forbids U.S. taxpayer support of any organization that performs or even promotes abortion.
House and Senate committees will now meet to settle their minor differences on this pro-abortion legislation. If – and probably when – the House and Senate agree on this pro-abortion bill, ONLY a Presidential veto can prevent this catastrophe for preborn babies.
So it’s critical that we immediately tell the President to veto this destruction of the pro-life Mexico City Policy if it reaches his desk!
Planned Parenthood’s brand new river of babies’ blood
Planned Parenthood’s worldwide killing machine stands to reap vast sums of U.S. aid from the destruction of our Mexico City Policy.
This bill allows massive U.S. taxpayer funding of worldwide condom and abortifacient distribution – U.S. tax money that will allow Planned Parenthood to free-up its existing funds for surgical abortions on a frightening scale.
Untold numbers of babies will die if America’s Mexico City Policy is gutted!
Only the beginning of the new “Slaughter of the Innocents”
As you read these words, pro-abortionists are giddy beyond belief at the prospect of finally crushing our pro-life Mexico City Policy.
NARAL Pro-Choice America brags that this legislation is just “. . . an important first step . . .” for “reproductive health services for women overseas.” That’s a slick way of saying “abortion on a scale beyond belief.” (“NARAL” stands for National Abortion Rights Action League.)
And since this is just the “first step” in the abortionists' new long-range plans . . .
We’ve got to stop them cold – NOW!
Here’s what we have to do right now . . .
First, we’ve got to FLOOD the White House with Petitions to Save America’s Pro-Life Mexico City Policy. We’ve got to tell the President that we expect him to hold true to his promise to veto all anti-life legislation that reaches his desk. We’ve got to hold his feet to the fire!
Here's What's with Kids Today!
God Bless our young people!
The following is from a Letter to the Editor to the "Georgia Bulletin" by a young man who lives in Peachtree, Georgia.
"I am 16 years old, and for the past 11 months, I have attended the traditional Latin Mass weekly, while still attending the Novus Ordo Mass during the week. Because of this, I decided to address certain points made by Carroll Sterne in the Sept. 6 edition of The Georgia Bulletin. Mr. Sterne speaks about the type of Mass that someones of a younger generation is drawn to, and I thought that a teenager’s point of view might be helpful."
"Mr. Sterne in his letter gives voice to the opinion of many of today’s liturgists when he says that no one from a younger generation would be drawn to the Latin Mass (many take this even further and assume that we would not like a reverent Novus Ordo Mass either.). This opinion causes many of those who plan modern liturgies to do veritable back flips in an attempt to draw teenagers and young adults in. Sometimes this works, but it has a side effect: by doing these things, liturgists show that they have absolutely no faith in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to change the lives of those in my generation. My generation knows about this lack of faith, we are able to see it every time we go to a “teen Mass” and experience priests ad-libbing prayers in an attempt to make them more relevant to us."
H/T again, to Curt Jester.
The following is from a Letter to the Editor to the "Georgia Bulletin" by a young man who lives in Peachtree, Georgia.
"I am 16 years old, and for the past 11 months, I have attended the traditional Latin Mass weekly, while still attending the Novus Ordo Mass during the week. Because of this, I decided to address certain points made by Carroll Sterne in the Sept. 6 edition of The Georgia Bulletin. Mr. Sterne speaks about the type of Mass that someones of a younger generation is drawn to, and I thought that a teenager’s point of view might be helpful."
"Mr. Sterne in his letter gives voice to the opinion of many of today’s liturgists when he says that no one from a younger generation would be drawn to the Latin Mass (many take this even further and assume that we would not like a reverent Novus Ordo Mass either.). This opinion causes many of those who plan modern liturgies to do veritable back flips in an attempt to draw teenagers and young adults in. Sometimes this works, but it has a side effect: by doing these things, liturgists show that they have absolutely no faith in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to change the lives of those in my generation. My generation knows about this lack of faith, we are able to see it every time we go to a “teen Mass” and experience priests ad-libbing prayers in an attempt to make them more relevant to us."
H/T again, to Curt Jester.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
What's with Kids these Days?
Fr. Phillip Powell, OP, has an answer. Sample:
"Teach the apostolic faith full on…no compromises on basic doctrine or dogma. This generation of college students can smell an intellectual/spiritual weasel a hundred miles away. They would rather hear the bald-faced Truth and struggle with it than listen to a priest/minister try to sugar-coat a difficult teaching in the vain search for popularity or 'hipness.'”
H/T Curt Jester.
"Teach the apostolic faith full on…no compromises on basic doctrine or dogma. This generation of college students can smell an intellectual/spiritual weasel a hundred miles away. They would rather hear the bald-faced Truth and struggle with it than listen to a priest/minister try to sugar-coat a difficult teaching in the vain search for popularity or 'hipness.'”
H/T Curt Jester.
Friday, September 21, 2007
More Great Stem-Cell News!
Umbilical Cord-blood stem-cells, that is.
From today's San Francisco Chronicle:
"Children with sickle cell disease were cured following umbilical cord blood transplants from their siblings, according to findings reported Thursday in Washington, D.C., by doctors from Children's Hospital Oakland.
Of 43 youths across the country who received transplants from compatible siblings, 90 percent were cured, said blood specialist Dr. Bertram Lubin, senior vice president of research at Children's Hospital."
Remind us again why California voters shelled out $3billion+ for immoral, embryo destroying stem-cell research, while cord-blood and adult stem cells are curing people right and left?
From today's San Francisco Chronicle:
"Children with sickle cell disease were cured following umbilical cord blood transplants from their siblings, according to findings reported Thursday in Washington, D.C., by doctors from Children's Hospital Oakland.
Of 43 youths across the country who received transplants from compatible siblings, 90 percent were cured, said blood specialist Dr. Bertram Lubin, senior vice president of research at Children's Hospital."
Remind us again why California voters shelled out $3billion+ for immoral, embryo destroying stem-cell research, while cord-blood and adult stem cells are curing people right and left?
Catholic Democrats?
The "Catholic Democrats" national organization is starting a California state affiliate purportedly to represent Catholic policy perspectives within the State Democratic Party, and publicize how "the Democratic Party is working to advance humanistic goals so well-articulated in Catholic Social Teaching." (California Catholic Daily)
Unfortunately, the "Catholic Democrats" statement, while promoting many Catholic social policies, have omitted this part of a quote from the "Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life" (approved by Pope John Paul II and signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.):
"Laws must defend the basic right to life from conception to natural death. In the same way, it is necessary to recall the duty to respect and protect the rights of the human embryo … Those who are directly involved in lawmaking bodies have a 'grave and clear obligation to oppose' any law that attacks human life. For them and for every Catholic, it is impossible to promote such laws or to vote for them.''
Serious question: Are “Catholic Democrats” Catholic?
Unfortunately, the "Catholic Democrats" statement, while promoting many Catholic social policies, have omitted this part of a quote from the "Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life" (approved by Pope John Paul II and signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.):
"Laws must defend the basic right to life from conception to natural death. In the same way, it is necessary to recall the duty to respect and protect the rights of the human embryo … Those who are directly involved in lawmaking bodies have a 'grave and clear obligation to oppose' any law that attacks human life. For them and for every Catholic, it is impossible to promote such laws or to vote for them.''
Serious question: Are “Catholic Democrats” Catholic?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Immoral Research vs. Good Science
Many times in the Saints Peter and Paul Church Bulletin, under Fr. Malloy's direction, we asked the question: "Are California voters having second thoughts about allocating $3billion+ for immoral, embryo destroying stem-cell research, while adult and cord blood stem cells are curing things right and left?" But we have to keep asking, because the mainstream media, at least in California, with its anti-life bias, refuses to cover the tremendous work being done with cord-blood and adult stem cells.
Today's story, even the MSM couldn't avoid. It was covered in the Globe and Mail , The Canadian Press , the Washington Post, & Scientific American:
"It is an idea that may make many men cross their legs. But researchers in the United States say stem cells harvested from a man's testicles could one day be used to repair his damaged heart, kidneys or even his brain.
The scientists have found a way to easily identify stem cells in the testicles of adult mice, and to coax them to become brain cells, muscle cells, heart cells, blood cells and even blood vessels. The next step is to see if they can do the same thing in humans.
The procedure would involve removing a small piece of testicle – about the same amount used for a biopsy." (Globe and Mail)
"The first thing that was the most exciting was that in vitro (in lab dishes) even, we've seen these cells become what's very clearly heart tissue because it contracts rhythmically," Seandel said Wednesday from New York. "That's one type of tissue that you can't really miss." (Canadian Press)
Bravo to our good scientists, who work tirelessly to better the human condition, while maintaining high ethical standards. May God bless them in their work!
Posted by Gibbons Cooney
Today's story, even the MSM couldn't avoid. It was covered in the Globe and Mail , The Canadian Press , the Washington Post, & Scientific American:
"It is an idea that may make many men cross their legs. But researchers in the United States say stem cells harvested from a man's testicles could one day be used to repair his damaged heart, kidneys or even his brain.
The scientists have found a way to easily identify stem cells in the testicles of adult mice, and to coax them to become brain cells, muscle cells, heart cells, blood cells and even blood vessels. The next step is to see if they can do the same thing in humans.
The procedure would involve removing a small piece of testicle – about the same amount used for a biopsy." (Globe and Mail)
"The first thing that was the most exciting was that in vitro (in lab dishes) even, we've seen these cells become what's very clearly heart tissue because it contracts rhythmically," Seandel said Wednesday from New York. "That's one type of tissue that you can't really miss." (Canadian Press)
Bravo to our good scientists, who work tirelessly to better the human condition, while maintaining high ethical standards. May God bless them in their work!
Posted by Gibbons Cooney
Warming -- Fact or Fiction?
More than 500 scientists have published evidence refuting the current man-made global warming scare, according to a new analysis of peer-reviewed literature by the Hudson Institute.
The assessment supports another study on which WND reported recently, one that revealed carbon dioxide levels were largely irrelevant to global warming. Those results prompted Reid Bryson, founding chairman of the Department of Meteorology at the University of Wisconsin, to quip, "You can go outside and spit and have the same effect as doubling carbon dioxide."
The newest analysis was released by Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Dennis Avery, who said of the 500 scientists who have refuted at least one element of the global warming scare, more than 300 have found evidence that a natural moderate 1,500-year climate cycle has produced more than a dozen global warmings similar to the current circumstances since the last Ice Age and that such warmings are linked to variations in the sun's irradiance.
"This data and the list of scientists make a mockery of recent claims that a scientific consensus blames humans as the primary cause of global temperature increases since 1850," he said.
The assessment supports another study on which WND reported recently, one that revealed carbon dioxide levels were largely irrelevant to global warming. Those results prompted Reid Bryson, founding chairman of the Department of Meteorology at the University of Wisconsin, to quip, "You can go outside and spit and have the same effect as doubling carbon dioxide."
The newest analysis was released by Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Dennis Avery, who said of the 500 scientists who have refuted at least one element of the global warming scare, more than 300 have found evidence that a natural moderate 1,500-year climate cycle has produced more than a dozen global warmings similar to the current circumstances since the last Ice Age and that such warmings are linked to variations in the sun's irradiance.
"This data and the list of scientists make a mockery of recent claims that a scientific consensus blames humans as the primary cause of global temperature increases since 1850," he said.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Thank You
Thanks, Governor, for your veto on Leno's bill.
Courts should enforce, not make laws.
Same-sex marriage is still under attack, but thank God for this victory.
Thanks to the Governor, not the legislature: the will of the people still counts in California.
Courts should enforce, not make laws.
Same-sex marriage is still under attack, but thank God for this victory.
Thanks to the Governor, not the legislature: the will of the people still counts in California.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Sunday Mass
The Holy Father said during the Mass he celebrated at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, on the last day of his three-day apostolic trip to Austria this month:
” Going to Sunday Mass is not just a rule to follow, but rather an inner necessity."
Bnedict XVI centered on the mantra of the early Christian martyrs of Abitene: "Without Sunday we cannot live. Sunday has been transformed in our Western societies into the weekend, into leisure time."
"Leisure time is certainly something good and necessary, especially amid the mad rush of the modern world. Yet if leisure time lacks an inner focus, an overall sense of direction, then ultimately it becomes wasted time that neither strengthens nor builds us up.
"Free time requires a focus -- the encounter with him who is our origin and goal."
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop of Vienna, explained that there had been a movement in Austria to defend "Sunday from tendencies to empty this day of its meaning."
Recalling the example of the early Christians, Benedict XVI explained that for them Sunday Mass was not a "precept," but rather "an inner necessity.""Does this attitude of the Christians of that time apply also to us who are Christians today?" the Pope asked.
The Holy Father answered: "Yes, it does, we too need a relationship that sustains us, that gives direction and content to our lives."We too need access to the Risen One, who sustains us through and beyond death. We need this encounter which brings us together, which gives us space for freedom, which lets us see beyond the bustle of everyday life to God's creative love, from which we come and toward which we are traveling."
(Zenit.org)
” Going to Sunday Mass is not just a rule to follow, but rather an inner necessity."
Bnedict XVI centered on the mantra of the early Christian martyrs of Abitene: "Without Sunday we cannot live. Sunday has been transformed in our Western societies into the weekend, into leisure time."
"Leisure time is certainly something good and necessary, especially amid the mad rush of the modern world. Yet if leisure time lacks an inner focus, an overall sense of direction, then ultimately it becomes wasted time that neither strengthens nor builds us up.
"Free time requires a focus -- the encounter with him who is our origin and goal."
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop of Vienna, explained that there had been a movement in Austria to defend "Sunday from tendencies to empty this day of its meaning."
Recalling the example of the early Christians, Benedict XVI explained that for them Sunday Mass was not a "precept," but rather "an inner necessity.""Does this attitude of the Christians of that time apply also to us who are Christians today?" the Pope asked.
The Holy Father answered: "Yes, it does, we too need a relationship that sustains us, that gives direction and content to our lives."We too need access to the Risen One, who sustains us through and beyond death. We need this encounter which brings us together, which gives us space for freedom, which lets us see beyond the bustle of everyday life to God's creative love, from which we come and toward which we are traveling."
(Zenit.org)
Friday, September 14, 2007
Enough already!
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives by the end of September.
ENDA will be marked up in the House Education and Labor Committee (mark up involves adding or deleting sections to the bill) on September 19 and a vote in the full house is expected the following week.
ENDA is federal legislation designed to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to federal law. If ENDA is signed into law, homosexuals, cross-dressers, drag queens, transsexuals, and even she-males will be considered protected minorities under federal law. ENDA applies to any business with 15 or more employees and will impact religious organizations as well. There follows a suggested letter you might address to your representative asking the bill to be defeated:
The Dear Representative:
I am writing to you to ask that you vote NO on H.R. 2015, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).
Passage of ENDA is a primary goal of homosexual and transgender activists. They want to gain federally-protected minority status for sexual behaviors that are changeable and treatable.
ENDA will provide federal protection for a whole range of sexual orientations and Gender Identity Disorders (GID), which are listed in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
Individuals with GID include cross-dressers, drag queens, transsexuals, and even she-males (individuals who go through only half of a so-called sex-change operation. They are male from the waist down and female from the waist up.)
ENDA will make these individuals a federally-protected minority group. These are individuals who have seriously disordered thinking about who they are. They need therapy, not federal minority status under the law.
Likewise, ENDA defines “sexual orientation” as: “homosexuality, bisexuality and heterosexuality” but also includes the phrase “actual or perceived” sexual orientation. This opens up ENDA to protecting a whole range of bizarre sexual orientations listed in the APA’s DSM.
Sincerely,
Now is the time. Speak up or forever hold your peace!
ENDA will be marked up in the House Education and Labor Committee (mark up involves adding or deleting sections to the bill) on September 19 and a vote in the full house is expected the following week.
ENDA is federal legislation designed to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to federal law. If ENDA is signed into law, homosexuals, cross-dressers, drag queens, transsexuals, and even she-males will be considered protected minorities under federal law. ENDA applies to any business with 15 or more employees and will impact religious organizations as well. There follows a suggested letter you might address to your representative asking the bill to be defeated:
The Dear Representative:
I am writing to you to ask that you vote NO on H.R. 2015, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).
Passage of ENDA is a primary goal of homosexual and transgender activists. They want to gain federally-protected minority status for sexual behaviors that are changeable and treatable.
ENDA will provide federal protection for a whole range of sexual orientations and Gender Identity Disorders (GID), which are listed in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
Individuals with GID include cross-dressers, drag queens, transsexuals, and even she-males (individuals who go through only half of a so-called sex-change operation. They are male from the waist down and female from the waist up.)
ENDA will make these individuals a federally-protected minority group. These are individuals who have seriously disordered thinking about who they are. They need therapy, not federal minority status under the law.
Likewise, ENDA defines “sexual orientation” as: “homosexuality, bisexuality and heterosexuality” but also includes the phrase “actual or perceived” sexual orientation. This opens up ENDA to protecting a whole range of bizarre sexual orientations listed in the APA’s DSM.
Sincerely,
Now is the time. Speak up or forever hold your peace!
Crocodile Tears
Planned Parenthood is pleading for the $24,000,000 cut from the budget by our California Governor. Citing desperate conditions of denied health care, PP cries all the way to the bank..
Of their nine clinics in California eight of them made a profit: more than $7,500,000 from Los Angeles alone!
Tax payers are still paying for the death-dealing of Planned Parenthood as their abortion clinics continue to flourish. The public does not hear of abortion, as funds are begged, but only of the cancer treatments offered and the preventive medicine given to cut future health care costs!
Of their nine clinics in California eight of them made a profit: more than $7,500,000 from Los Angeles alone!
Tax payers are still paying for the death-dealing of Planned Parenthood as their abortion clinics continue to flourish. The public does not hear of abortion, as funds are begged, but only of the cancer treatments offered and the preventive medicine given to cut future health care costs!
Nothing New
A couple of my friends sent me this portion of a speech given by Winston Churchill on Islam, delivered in 1899, when he was a young soldier and journalist:
"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries, improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement, the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome."
Sir Winston Churchill; (The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248-50 London)
Churchill saw it coming, when are we going to take off our blinders?
"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries, improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement, the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome."
Sir Winston Churchill; (The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248-50 London)
Churchill saw it coming, when are we going to take off our blinders?
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
September 11, 07
September 11. 2007 takes on a new significance for me this year. I am not speaking of the disaster that we commemorate this day, but an event that happened in the space of 45 minutes here on the campus of Salesian High School in Richmond, California.
This school was the home of the Salesian House of Studies back in the 1930 when I was a student in the then Junior Seminary. We held class in a redwood building of a few small class rooms, office, and relatively large study hall and library unit. The study hall was large enough to serve as a small theater for productions the Salesian Brothers (Montali, Collins, Zunino, Lauer…) put on for the local community, including me as a guest. I was in the seventh grade at that time and was really enthralled by the friendliness and welcoming of the community, which I joined the next August, together with several classmates, including Armand Oliveri from North Beach.
Yesterday I walked through that building, which seemed large to me in the Thirties, but now had shrunk in size. The library where I served as librarian on my first assignment to Richmond as a Salesian Cleric was completely empty. The old study hall, which had been a print shop for some years, only had ghosts of decades past. I passed the classrooms where we studied Latin and English and the rest of the high school subjects, and bowed as I passed Fr. Gabriel Zavattaro’s office, where he presided as Prefect of Studies. My last look envisioning more than seventy years of my life!
This morning a huge caterpillar rolled in at six thirty. In less than an hour the entire building was a pile of splintered wood. Hic transit gloria mundi! Now we are at ground zero for new life and action.
This school was the home of the Salesian House of Studies back in the 1930 when I was a student in the then Junior Seminary. We held class in a redwood building of a few small class rooms, office, and relatively large study hall and library unit. The study hall was large enough to serve as a small theater for productions the Salesian Brothers (Montali, Collins, Zunino, Lauer…) put on for the local community, including me as a guest. I was in the seventh grade at that time and was really enthralled by the friendliness and welcoming of the community, which I joined the next August, together with several classmates, including Armand Oliveri from North Beach.
Yesterday I walked through that building, which seemed large to me in the Thirties, but now had shrunk in size. The library where I served as librarian on my first assignment to Richmond as a Salesian Cleric was completely empty. The old study hall, which had been a print shop for some years, only had ghosts of decades past. I passed the classrooms where we studied Latin and English and the rest of the high school subjects, and bowed as I passed Fr. Gabriel Zavattaro’s office, where he presided as Prefect of Studies. My last look envisioning more than seventy years of my life!
This morning a huge caterpillar rolled in at six thirty. In less than an hour the entire building was a pile of splintered wood. Hic transit gloria mundi! Now we are at ground zero for new life and action.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Call the Governor NOW!
From Catholics for the Common Good:
"SACRAMENTO, Calif., September 7, 2007-- AB 43, a bill legalizing marriage between two persons of the same sex, passed the Senate on a 22-15 vote. See how your Senator voted. The bill will now go to the Governor's desk.
In 2000, California voters passed the California Defense of Marriage Act, Proposition 22, by an overwhelming 61.4% to define marriage as between a man and a woman. It is the very language of this initiative that the legislature is proposing to change.
The bill changes the current legal definition of marriage as "a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between a man and a woman" by removing the words "a man and a woman" and substituting them with "two persons". Any other gender specific references in the bill are made gender neutral, to allow the legal recognition of same-sex marriages.
The bill is a very dangerous attempt at redefining and devaluing marriage, which is the foundation of our society.
Please call the Governor's office (916 445-2841) and tell the staff person to ask the Governor to veto AB 43.
2. To have a stronger impact, write a letter to the Governor as well:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: 916-445-4633
"SACRAMENTO, Calif., September 7, 2007-- AB 43, a bill legalizing marriage between two persons of the same sex, passed the Senate on a 22-15 vote. See how your Senator voted. The bill will now go to the Governor's desk.
In 2000, California voters passed the California Defense of Marriage Act, Proposition 22, by an overwhelming 61.4% to define marriage as between a man and a woman. It is the very language of this initiative that the legislature is proposing to change.
The bill changes the current legal definition of marriage as "a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between a man and a woman" by removing the words "a man and a woman" and substituting them with "two persons". Any other gender specific references in the bill are made gender neutral, to allow the legal recognition of same-sex marriages.
The bill is a very dangerous attempt at redefining and devaluing marriage, which is the foundation of our society.
Please call the Governor's office (916 445-2841) and tell the staff person to ask the Governor to veto AB 43.
2. To have a stronger impact, write a letter to the Governor as well:
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: 916-445-4633
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Life
VIENNA, Austria, (Zenit.org).- Here is one part of the address Benedict XVI gave Friday to the members of government and diplomatic corps in Austria.
It was in Europe that the notion of human rights was first formulated. The fundamental human right, the presupposition of every other right, is the right to life itself. This is true of life from the moment of conception until its natural end. Abortion, consequently, cannot be a human right -- it is the very opposite. It is "a deep wound in society", as the late Cardinal Franz König never tired of repeating.
In stating this, I am not expressing a specifically ecclesial concern. Rather, I am acting as advocate for a profoundly human need, speaking out on behalf of those unborn children who have no voice. I do not close my eyes to the difficulties and the conflicts which many women are experiencing, and I realize that the credibility of what we say also depends on what the Church herself is doing to help women in trouble.
I appeal, then, to political leaders not to allow children to be considered as a form of illness, nor to abolish in practice your legal system's acknowledgment that abortion is wrong. I say this out of a concern for humanity. But that is only one side of this disturbing problem. The other is the need to do everything possible to make European countries once again open to welcoming children. Encourage young married couple to establish new families and to become mothers and fathers! You will not only assist them, but you will benefit society as a whole.
We also decisively support you in your political efforts to favour conditions enabling young couples to raise children. Yet all this will be pointless, unless we can succeed in creating once again in our countries a climate of joy and confidence in life, a climate in which children are not seen as a burden, but rather as a gift for all.
It was in Europe that the notion of human rights was first formulated. The fundamental human right, the presupposition of every other right, is the right to life itself. This is true of life from the moment of conception until its natural end. Abortion, consequently, cannot be a human right -- it is the very opposite. It is "a deep wound in society", as the late Cardinal Franz König never tired of repeating.
In stating this, I am not expressing a specifically ecclesial concern. Rather, I am acting as advocate for a profoundly human need, speaking out on behalf of those unborn children who have no voice. I do not close my eyes to the difficulties and the conflicts which many women are experiencing, and I realize that the credibility of what we say also depends on what the Church herself is doing to help women in trouble.
I appeal, then, to political leaders not to allow children to be considered as a form of illness, nor to abolish in practice your legal system's acknowledgment that abortion is wrong. I say this out of a concern for humanity. But that is only one side of this disturbing problem. The other is the need to do everything possible to make European countries once again open to welcoming children. Encourage young married couple to establish new families and to become mothers and fathers! You will not only assist them, but you will benefit society as a whole.
We also decisively support you in your political efforts to favour conditions enabling young couples to raise children. Yet all this will be pointless, unless we can succeed in creating once again in our countries a climate of joy and confidence in life, a climate in which children are not seen as a burden, but rather as a gift for all.
The Truth Prevails!
Way to go, Archbishop Burke!
We all remember the to-do when Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis resigned from the Board of the Cardinal Glennon Hospital to protest its public collaboration with pro-abortion, pro-embryonic stem cell research singer Sheryl Crow. Observe the result.
We all remember the to-do when Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis resigned from the Board of the Cardinal Glennon Hospital to protest its public collaboration with pro-abortion, pro-embryonic stem cell research singer Sheryl Crow. Observe the result.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Cloning
October 3 will mark an important day for the good of the archdiocese of San Francisco and the people of God. A Catholic bioethics conference will be held at St. Mary’s Cathedral. This Philadelphia-based National Catholic Bioethics Center will offer a one-day seminar. It is extremely important that we learn the rights and wrongs of bioethics, and Oct 3 will present a golden opportunity.
Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a neuroscientist and the Center’s director of education and staff ethicist, will address the one-day conference on “Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning."
Learn for yourself why cloning is wrong. Check the Church and Science as this scientist explains the good of the God's creation and how we should respect and treat it.
Truth will set you free! Oct 3 is the date, St. Mary's Cathedral the place.
Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a neuroscientist and the Center’s director of education and staff ethicist, will address the one-day conference on “Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning."
Learn for yourself why cloning is wrong. Check the Church and Science as this scientist explains the good of the God's creation and how we should respect and treat it.
Truth will set you free! Oct 3 is the date, St. Mary's Cathedral the place.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Gone to the Dogs!
Bit slow on the blog these days. I have not been feeling too well and the doctor is trying to arrange the proper dose of drugs to keep my heart in line. We did have a great Labor Day Party here in Richmond yesterday. Our yard and residence is Idyllic for parties!
One of our priests here, Fr. Jesse, has a very small poodle mix dog that has taken over my office. Fr. Jesse is going to attend Vatican II Institute and will be away for three months. I'll see if I can keep up with this little ball of energy until Father finishes his course.
One of our priests here, Fr. Jesse, has a very small poodle mix dog that has taken over my office. Fr. Jesse is going to attend Vatican II Institute and will be away for three months. I'll see if I can keep up with this little ball of energy until Father finishes his course.
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